Alabama Basketball: Another offseason of roster reconstruction

Transfer portal rules, extra eligibility, and reclassifications have made college basketball very difficult to gauge over the past couple years. It can be nearly impossible to know if a team will be good from year to year because there is no roster stability, and therefore no way to know who will actually be on the team the following season. Alabama Basketball has not escaped this bizarre new reality unscathed.

The 2023 offseason was absolute chaos for Bama hoops’ roster management. So many players were going in and out of the program that it became difficult to keep track of at times.

Alabama Basketball Departures

Officially, the Crimson Tide has lost eight players from its 2022-23 roster. Wing Dom Walsh and forward Noah Gurley both graduated and exhausted their eligibility. Starting center Charles Bediako chose to enter the NBA Draft, which was an unexpected major blow to the Tide’s frontcourt.

Freshman forward Noah Clowney and All-American freshman wing Brandon Miller also entered the draft as anticipated, finishing their Bama careers as one-and-done players. As a result, Alabama’s entire starting frontcourt from last season will likely be playing the the NBA this winter.

In the backcourt, Jahvon Quinerly, Jaden Bradley, and Nimari Burnett all transferred out of the Alabama Basketball program. This trio combined to start every game in the Crimson Tide backcourt.

Nimari Burnett (Michigan) started the first nine games of the season while Quinerly (Memphis) returned slowly from an ACL injury. When Burnett himself got injured, Jaden Bradley (Arizona) took his place in the lineup and started 22 straight games for the Crimson Tide. Quinerly finally hit his stride late in the year and started Alabama’s final six games. These backcourt transfers ensured that Alabama basketball would return just one starter in the 2023-24 season.

In total, the eight departures accounted for most of Bama’s statistical production from last season.